Developments in agriculture have produced chemical compounds and methods for their application which function as plant bioregulators and thus serve to enhance one or more properties exhibited by the treated plant. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,671,219 discloses a quartenary ammonium compound which when applied to plants enhances the sugar content of sugar cane. U.S. Pat. No. 4,204,859 discloses that the addition of certain phenoxytrialkylamines enhance the hydrocarbon production of rubber in plants. U.S. Pat. No. 4,159,903 discloses a method for increase of polyisoprene production in rubber producing plants such as Guayule. U.S. Pat. No. 3,833,350 discloses that carotenoid accumulation in plants can be increased according to a method comprised applying compounds including (halogenated phenoxy) trialkylamines. U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,864,501, 3,911,148, and 3,911,152 disclose a method for increasing the carotenogenic pigments of fruits and vegetables which comprises the application of compounds including (methyl phenoxy) trialkylamine.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,797,153 discloses a method for increasing total plant biomass and individual plant constituents such as sugar, protein, lipid, and essential oils which comprises the application of certain substituted phenoxytrialkylamines and substituted phenylthiotrialkyl amines, or dialkyl morpholium halides. The compounds are applied in bioregulatory amounts to plant seeds, plant seedlings, or plant buds at the early stage of plant development, or to trees during a week before or after flower bud swell. It has since been shown that the application of the compounds of this reference in bioregulatory amounts affect the photosynthetic pathway in green plants in a manner which facilitates the assimilation of carbon dioxide in the photosynthetic pathway, thereby increasing the carbon atoms available for synthesis of total biomass and individual plant constituents.